Wall Street Zen Downgrades Exagen (NASDAQ:XGN) to Sell

Exagen (NASDAQ:XGN) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report issued on Sunday.

XGN has been the subject of a number of other reports. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price objective on shares of Exagen from $15.00 to $10.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. BTIG Research dropped their target price on shares of Exagen from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. UBS Group set a $10.00 target price on shares of Exagen in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Exagen in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Craig Hallum dropped their target price on shares of Exagen from $12.00 to $10.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Exagen currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $9.38.

Exagen Price Performance

XGN stock opened at $2.99 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $3.18 and a 200-day moving average of $6.11. The company has a current ratio of 3.45, a quick ratio of 3.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. Exagen has a 12 month low of $2.59 and a 12 month high of $12.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.91 million, a P/E ratio of -3.25 and a beta of 1.93.

Exagen (NASDAQ:XGN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 10th. The company reported ($0.20) EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.20). Exagen had a negative net margin of 29.97% and a negative return on equity of 105.03%. The company had revenue of $16.63 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.46 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Exagen will post -0.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Exagen

In other Exagen news, CEO John Aballi sold 15,698 shares of Exagen stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.62, for a total transaction of $56,826.76. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 687,299 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,488,022.38. This trade represents a 2.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 12.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Exagen by 27.1% during the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 919,187 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,589,000 after acquiring an additional 195,759 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Exagen by 7.7% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 733,824 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,065,000 after acquiring an additional 52,205 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Exagen during the third quarter worth approximately $7,420,000. Kennedy Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Exagen by 77.6% during the third quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 551,848 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,065,000 after acquiring an additional 241,127 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wexford Capital LP raised its stake in shares of Exagen by 6.9% during the third quarter. Wexford Capital LP now owns 444,927 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,890,000 after acquiring an additional 28,579 shares in the last quarter. 75.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Exagen

Exagen Inc is a molecular diagnostics company focused on improving the detection and management of autoimmune diseases. Headquartered in the United States, the company develops, manufactures and markets laboratory tests designed to help clinicians address diagnostic challenges associated with complex connective tissue disorders.

The company’s flagship product portfolio, marketed under the Avise® brand, includes multi-analyte assays such as the Avise® Connective Tissue Disease (CTD) panel, Avise® Lupus panel and Avise® Sjögren’s panel.